1707 Hōei earthquake
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| Date | October 28, 1707 |
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| Magnitude | 8.6 ML, Mw8.7 - 9.3 (est.) |
| Epicenter | 33°00′N 136°00′E / 33.0°N 136.0°ECoordinates: 33°00′N 136°00′E / 33.0°N 136.0°E |
| Areas affected | Japan: Chūbu region, Kansai region, Shikoku, Kyūshū |
| Tsunami | yes |
| Casualties | >5,000 |
The 1707 Hōei earthquake (Hōei jishin 宝永地震) was a large earthquake that struck south-central Japan at 14:00 local time on October 28, 1707. It was the largest earthquake in Japanese history until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake surpassed it. It caused moderate to severe damage throughout southwestern Honshu, Shikoku and southeastern Kyūshū. The earthquake, and the resulting destructive tsunami, caused more than 5,000 casualties. This event ruptured all of the segments of the Nankai megathrust simultaneously, the only earthquake known to have done this, with an estimated magnitude of 8.6 ML. It might also have triggered the last eruption of Mount Fuji 49 days later.
The southern coast of Honshu runs parallel to the Nankai Trough, which marks the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate. Movement on this convergent plate boundary leads to many earthquakes, some of them of megathrust type. The Nankai megathrust has five distinct segments (A-E) that can rupture independently. The segments have ruptured either singly or together repeatedly over the last 1,300 years.Megathrust earthquakes on this structure tend to occur in pairs, with a relatively short time gap between them. In addition to the two events in 1854, there were similar earthquakes in 1944 and 1946. In each case, the northeastern segment ruptured before the southwestern segment. In the 1707 event, the earthquakes were either simultaneous, or close enough in time to not be distinguished by historical sources.
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